Chinese Herald Special Report Group
Japan's Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, Keizo Takemi, announced at the House of Councillors Committee on Health and Labor on April 18 that regardless of the usage rate of the "personal code health insurance card", the current health insurance card will be abolished in December 2024 and merged with the personal code card.
"Ultra-low-altitude flight": low utilization rate of personal code health insurance card
Keizo Takemi said on April 18 that even after the abolition of the current health insurance card, there will be a grace period of up to one year during which the existing health insurance card can be used, and for those who do not have an Individual Number Number health insurance card, they will receive a "confirmation of eligibility". "Regardless of the usage rate, we don't think there will be any problems with visiting medical institutions from December," he said. ”
Although the government has decided to abolish the issuance of the current health insurance card from December 2, the usage rate of the My Number Number Health Insurance Card remained at a low level of 5.47% in March.
On December 12, 2023, Prime Minister Kishida attended a meeting at the headquarters for the comprehensive review of personal code card information.
The "Personal Number Card" is an ID card issued by Japan under the Act on the Use of Specific Individual Numbers for the Identification of Administrative Procedures, etc., and has been officially issued to all members of the Japanese community since January 1, 2016. The face of the ticket contains your name, address, date of birth, gender, My Number, and ID photo, and it is equipped with an IC chip.
The "My Number Card" was originally issued to make life easier for people living in Japan. According to the official website of the Individual Number Card, the card can enjoy many convenient functions, and with the update and strengthening of the "Individual Number Card" system, the government hopes to achieve at least theoretically the possibility of using a single card to carry out all the procedures of daily life.
1. As a document to prove your Individual Number. In various cases where an Individual Number is required, the Individual Number Card can be regarded as a document proving the Individual Number.
2. Supporting documents for online application for various administrative procedures. You can log in to the information provision system to apply for various administrative procedures online.
3. Serve as an identity document to confirm your identity. The Personal Number Card is the only document that allows people to use a single card to prove their identity when they need to show their Individual Number and also prove their identity.
4. It is used to handle various online procedures of private financial institutions. In the future, it is expected that personal code cards will be used in a variety of financial services for private organizations such as online banking.
5. With a personal code card, you can enjoy a variety of services. In the past, in order to enjoy various services provided by municipalities and national organizations, it was necessary to present a variety of cards. Today, PIN cards combine the functions of various cards into one, allowing you to enjoy a wide range of services with a single card.
6. You can go to convenience stores and other places to apply for various official documents. For example, if you want to apply for various official documents such as a certificate of residence or a seal registration certificate, you don't have to go to the municipal office (the services may vary depending on the city), but you can go to a 24-hour convenience store.
In addition to the two types of documents mentioned above, you can also apply for a certificate of the items listed in your resident card, various tax certificates, family registration certificates, and family register slips (the services that can be used vary depending on the municipality where you live). It is reported that 740 municipalities have introduced this function, covering a population of about 103 million people. In the future, more municipalities will introduce this function. (See Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications website, etc.)
At present, Japan is actively promoting the network integration of the "Individual Number Card" with other types of cards. Such as health insurance card, drug information, medical examination information, electronic prescription, drug manual, recipient medical assistance ticket, prescription ticket, long-term care insurance card, diagnosis record, maternal and child health handbook, HELLO WORK card, teacher ID, university teacher ID, student ID, disability card, e-Tax, employee ID, public transportation card, etc. Among them, Japan has decided to abolish the current health insurance card by the end of 2025 and incorporate it into the "My Number Health Insurance Card".
From the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's website "Promotion of the Use of My Number Health Insurance Cards".
For foreigners living in Japan, the My Number Card may be integrated with the Residence Card in the near future. On March 15 of this year, the Japanese government announced an amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which was finalized by the Cabinet meeting, and explicitly mentioned that the "Residence Card" and the "My Number Card" of foreigners living in Japan will be combined into one to issue a "Specified Residence Card". This makes it easier and more convenient to renew both cards at the same time.
However, the "My Number Card" is full of loopholes in practice, especially when the card is used instead of the "health insurance card". For example, an "Individual Number Card" may be issued to someone with the same name and surname and used by mistake, a patient's eligibility for health insurance cannot be confirmed, or many patients are required to pay 100% of their own medical expenses even though they are enrolled in health insurance.
According to the latest survey, as of April 14, 2024, among the people living in Japan, there are 98.87 million people with "My Number Cards", accounting for 78.8% of the total population of Japan, 6.72 million more than the previous month, an increase of 5.3%. Of these, approximately 72.06 million are registered as health insurance cards, accounting for 73.8% of the total number of delivered Individual Number Cards and 57.4% of the total population of Japan.
More than half of the people in Japan can use their "My Number Card" instead of their "health insurance card", but the actual number of people who use it is very small. According to statistics, as of March this year, the utilization rate of the "My Number Card Health Insurance Card" was only 5.47%. In other words, 94.53% of the Japanese people still use the traditional "health insurance card".
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as of November 2023, the usage rate of health insurance cards with individual number codes for all national civil servants was 4.36%, which means that the usage rate is almost at the same level due to the 4.33% usage rate nationwide during the same period. Even the employees of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, who supervise and promote the use of My Number Health Insurance cards, have only 4.88% of the employees.
From these figures, it can be seen that the employees of state agencies are not very motivated to use my numbered health insurance cards.
In response to the lack of use of individual-coded health insurance cards, which combine My Number Cards and health insurance cards, Digital Minister Taro Kono asked LDP MPs to notify medical institutions that cannot use My Numbered Health Insurance Cards to the National Personal Number Card General Desk, and encouraged LDP lawmakers to effectively report to pressure medical institutions.
According to sources, the document was produced by Taro Kono's office and distributed to LDP MPs in the days leading up to April 19.
How to obtain and use an Individual Number Health Insurance Card and its advantages
The issuance of personal code cards began in January 2016.
An Individual Number Card is an IC card issued upon an individual's application, and can be used as a document proving an Individual Number, as an official ID document to verify identity, and can also receive various government services.
The PIN card reads:
All names
address
Date of birth
gender
Face photo
From December 2, 2024, Japan will no longer issue the current medical insurance card, and it will be abolished in principle. Insurance cards currently issued will be valid until around the fall of 2025.
If you do not have an PIN, or if you have a PIN card but are not registered as a health insurance card, a "Certificate of Eligibility" will be issued free of charge. The "Confirmation of Eligibility" will be issued in the form of a push, and no application is required. So, how do I use my My Number Health Insurance Card, and what are the advantages of using My Number Health Insurance Card?
▲Facial recognition can automate the process of medical treatment such as hospital visits, and can accept medical treatment and prescriptions based on accurate data.
▲When paying medical expenses, if the limit is exceeded, there is no longer a need for temporary lump sum payment.
▲You can check information about specific medical examinations and medications on the Personal Coding Terminal, and you can easily submit medical exemption items in the final tax (Determination Return) return by using the e-TAX linked to the Personal Coding Terminal.
▲Even if you change jobs or move, you do not need to change your health insurance card.
If the medical institution is unable to read your My Number Health Insurance card, you can fill out and submit an Application Form and pay only 10-30% of your normal medical expenses. The application form must include name, date of birth, type of medical insurance, etc.
In 2025, the government plans to provide a reading function for the My Number Code health insurance card function on smartphones.
If you want to use your My Number Health Insurance Card, you must apply in advance, and you can easily obtain it through an app, and there is a special application page on the government website.
How to apply for an Individual Number Health Insurance Card official page. From the Japanese Government マイナポータル.
(Myna Portal
https://myna.go.jp/html/hokenshoriyou_top.html)
If you have a smartphone that can read your PIN card, you can easily apply for it using a dedicated app.
However, the personal code health insurance card does not put the information of the health insurance card directly on the card, but integrates it by linking personal information. Card readers in healthcare facilities read electronic certificates mounted on IC chips on the back of the card, verify the patient's identity through facial recognition or enter a password, as well as the patient's eligibility and obtain information. The system was fully introduced in October 2021.
The expiration date of the My Number Health Insurance Card
The expiration date of the My Number Card means that the Individual Number Health Insurance Card is also valid from the date of issuance to the 10th birthday, and then it needs to be renewed.
For those under the age of 18, the validity period of the PIN card is set at the 5th birthday after issuance, taking into account that the face photo changes a lot as the minor grows up.
For foreign residents in Japan, the Personal Identification Number Card for permanent residents, second-class highly skilled workers, and special permanent residents is valid for the same period as for Japanese nationals, and is valid from the date of issuance until the 10th birthday, and then needs to be renewed.
On the other hand, the validity period of the personal code card varies from person to person for medium- to long-term residents, including those who have a temporary asylum permit and a temporary residence permit (the maximum period of stay is 5 years), but for those who have a permanent residence permit and a high-skilled person who has a second and second level of residence, the validity period of the personal code card can be changed according to the application.